CSUMB is in talks about buying the National Steinbeck Center.

On May 1, at an invitation-only function celebrating CSU Monterey Bay’s 20th anniversary, University President Eduardo Ochoa announced the school is in talks with the National Steinbeck Center about “partnering.”

The next day, at the center’s Steinbeck Festival openings, Ochoa confirmed it.

“We’re in talks,” he says. “I won’t say what we’re talking about, but buying the building is one possibility.”

Steinbeck Center Executive Director Colleen Bailey added more dimension. “[CSUMB] is interested in establishing a site here in Salinas,” she says. “They’ve been in expansion mode. President Ochoa sees this is the heart of Salinas.”

The University Corporation at Monterey Bay – formerly known as the Foundation of CSUMB – recently bought the former Monterey County Herald building at Ryan Ranch.

The talks between the Steinbeck Center and the University Corporation are proceeding with some urgency because the center is in ongoing lease negotiations with the city of Salinas. The Steinbeck Center owes the city more than $2 million and has current lease and bond obligations with the city.

“We are interested in preserving the National Steinbeck Center’s mission, keeping it here in our wonderful city,” says Salinas City Manager Ray Corpuz. “We’re also very interested in having a major presence of CSUMB here. A university is a tremendous asset.”

Ochoa wouldn’t specify what a Salinas presence might mean for CSUMB, but says the university might move certain functions into the building.